An accelerated 5-year pastoral degree program where students can earn a B.A. and M.Div. in five years.
Vita Scholars save both time and money by earning an undergraduate and master’s degree in just five years.
Earn a BA from Hope College
5
Years to Finish
In Residence
Who is a Vita Scholar?
Vita Scholars will be students who embody the following traits:
Called to ministry in rural settings or inner city locations.
Desire to develop the skills to engage in the contemporary economic, political and cultural realities in light of the gospel.
Are committed to a Master of Divinity Degree and want to complete their education quickly and at a lower cost.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A VITA SCHOLAR?
Course of Study
Program participants will acquire a B.A. in Religion at Hope College, taking introductory and upper-level courses in biblical studies, church history and theology.
Participants will receive their M.Div. from Western Theological Seminary, taking courses in biblical studies, church history, theology and ministry.
Cohort-Based Learning
Participation in cohort-based learning through ongoing co-curricular programming is overseen by a program director and structured around themes of faith, worship, calling, work and the life of the world.
- Participants will learn how the Holy Spirit conforms human beings to Christ through multiple kinds of worship practices
- Students will gain a sense of how to express the unity of Scripture in Christ and how the history of the church fits into that story
- Faculty mentors guide students through historic and contemporary readings on work and economics to help them develop biblical and theological frameworks for both human work and societal flourishing
- Includes participation for part of one academic year at events (lectures, film screenings and colloquia) sponsored by Markets & Morality, a Hope College initiative
- Hear “work stories” from Christians across a range of positions, including reflections on ways their churches and pastors supported them in their work and ways they failed to understand and support them in their working lives
Summer work experiences
Completing two summer work experiences in a non-religious/ministry setting will give students the opportunity to encounter workplaces different than those they may have known through their families of origin and to enter into a better appreciation of the working lives of people in their future congregations. For some students, this may mean working in a professional setting. For other students, it may mean a job in a factory or on a farm.
Students will coordinate with the Boerigter Center for Calling and Career at Hope College to arrange paid summer work experiences during their second and third years of the program.
Church-based Internships
For their required church internships, students will work with the internship coordinator at Western Theological Seminary to find church placements for two part-time year-long internships or one part-time year-long internship and full-time summer internship. At least one internship will take place in a church in a rural or inner-city context. Ideally the ministry in which students are placed will be in a geographic setting they have not before experienced. Internships will take place during the fourth and fifth years of the program.
APPLICATION PROCESS
High School Students interested in the Vita Scholars program will begin by applying to Hope College.
Once accepted to Hope, students will receive information about applying to the Vita Scholars through WTS.
Hope Students can apply to join Vita Scholars anytime in their first two years of their BA program.
Have Questions?
CURRENT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
If you are a high school student interested in applying to Hope College, contact the Hope Admissions office.
CURRENT HOPE STUDENTS
Already a Hope student and want to take the next step to become a Vita Scholar?
